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Take Our Word For It NOE No. 10
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Melanie Crowley
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Aug 05, 2003 22:21 PDT
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Take Our Word For It NOE No. 10
http://www.takeourword.com
For Mac users who have trouble with our regular homepage:
http://www.takeourword.com/indexmac.html
**Greetings**
We're a bit out of order with this NOE, but we've experienced some
computer hardware problems and so have been unable to get Issue 189
ready on time. We'll publish it next week (and yes, we seem to have
repaired the hardware!).
**This Week's NOE**
In addition to having some computer problems, Melanie has a bit of a
cold, so "aspirin" came to mind as a good word for the NOE.
The word dates from the late 19th century and was formed in German. It
is a conflation of the words "acetylierte spiraure*", German for
"acetylated spiraeic acid". That's what they used to call what we now
know as "salicylic acid" or aspirin. The "spiraeic" part came from the
botanical name "Spirea", which refers to meadowsweet (Spirea ulmaria).
"Salicylic", as you may know, derives from Latin "salic-" or "-salix",
referring to the willow tree. The bark of the willow has been known for
centuries for its fever-reducing and pain-killing properties, and it
contains a salicylic compound (related to aspirin). Interestingly, the
same compound is found in meadowsweet.
*There should be an umlaut over the "a" in "spiraure".
**Laughing Stock**
Send us your funny stuff. If your entry is used in TOWFI, you'll get a
$10 gift certificate to Amazon.com.
**Derivation**
We still have 3 copies of the word game "Derivation" left. Donate $75
or more and get a copy!
**Next Issue**
We'll be back next week with a new issue of TOWFI and a NOE.
Until next time,
Take Our Word For It!
Melanie and Mike
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